Tag: Gorrell

Can you park outside your house? For many people living in the centre of town this is a dream; but why can’t we make it a reality?

The last month has shown us that a one way system across Whitstable might just work, but also that any change to traffic needs to consider the impact it has on local businesses, road safety and be done in conjunction with a rethink of how people who depend on public transport get into town.

Last weekend, Labour MP Rosie Duffield, was out with local candidates in the centre of Whitstable, hearing how the almost 300% rise in off street parking permits over the last five years is hitting people hard. She described the “the council is ‘cashing in’ on growing waiting lists for these places rather than considering new ways to stop the high street and local streets being gridlocked”. We all understand that tourism brings money into our town but this council isn’t squaring up to the traffic it brings.

Labour is committed to a new Park and Ride for the Whitstable but more importantly also believes we need an independent strategic plan to be commissioned to explore the problem of parking. A plan in which the council can work alongside concerned residents associations, businesses and local residents to identify the options and then consult widely across the town as to which has the greatest support. A consultation which involves face to face stakeholder events, local surveys and town hall style meetings to engage with all the local community rather than just those groups who are most organised.

George Caffrey, Labour candidate for Gorrell, notes that “previous attempts to impose solutions haven’t worked, nothing should be off the table. We need radical ideas we can all get behind”. If you agree, vote Labour on May 2

Visitors often ask me why there are so many places to drink in the centre of Whitstable. People who live here complain that their lives are blighted by noisy, drunken behaviour, especially in the summer, so what can we do?

One way to control the growth of licensed premises is to bring in a special saturation policy. We have them in St Margaret’s Street and Orange Street in Canterbury but nowhere else and none have been added in the district since 2008. They require public consultation to be brought in, which is a good thing, and change the dynamic so that anyone wanting to open another licensed venue would have to show it did not add to the cumulative impact of other such premises in the street or area. Otherwise the application will normally be refused.

In the current situation it is very difficult for the Licensing Committee at the Council to refuse applications, even when there are loads of other drinking places nearby and neighbours are upset that their lives have been blighted by them.

Labour would bring in a special saturation along the high street and in particular along our beach to prevent new bars opening in areas which are badly lit and already attract people who drink on the beach away from police, such as the proposed development at the Kent & London by the Oyster Stores.

The response to our local petition for a new Police Constable in town shows that fear of crime is increasing, particularly at night. With no local police station, people are worried and we need some fresh thinking.

The temporary one way system in Whitstable has caused real difficulty for local shops these past three weeks. Isn’t it time the council considered how we could use our car parks to support local business better?

At one point last week, drivers venturing into Whitstable would have found themselves turned away from Middle Wall Car Park, Cromwell Road, Cornwallis Circle and struggling to park centrally as the capacity of Gladstone Road car park has been halved. The temporary one way system caused by the closure of Sea Street and the development of the Oval may be coping, but local trade on our high street has drop substantially and confused many residents who rely on local buses to venture into town during the week.

Last week myself and fellow candidate Chris Cornell visited local shop keepers to talk to them about the disruption. One shop keeper was clear that something needs to be done. “For years I’ve been saying to the council that the strength of this high street depends largely on the Gorrell Tank Car Park and for the third year in a row it is about to be temporarily closed” said one local shopkeeper. “The council really appreciate that their actions affect our takings”.

As the council roll out more infuriating machines to car parks down the high street, Labour would like to see local residents given half an hour’s free parking to encourage them to use local shops. Freeing up the high street would make buses run easier, prevent queueing and make it far safer where roads are narrow. It would stop our loading bays being filled with people popping in for a print of milk.

Canterbury City Council already use free parking as a means to attract shoppers to Herne Bay, so why not Whitstable?

As the council continues to raise the price of parking in our car parks and outside your house, we think that the money their new automatic plate recognition (ANPR) machines swallow because the machines don’t give change, could be better spent. A Labour council would run a honest, independent consultation on parking in town and support local businesses by using the council car parks differently.